A Birthday To Remember
by Blue Tea Leaves
Summary: Rukia's never had an enjoyable birthday before... Leave it up to the Kurosaki household to fix that up! But what exactly do they have in store for Rukia? [IchiRuki] [MultiChapter].
1. The Beginning Of The End

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach, Kubo Tite does. I'm young and penniless so don't sue me.

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**A Birthday To Remember - Chapter 1 - The Beginning Of The End **

The Kurosaki family along with Rukia were crowded around the dining table having dinner together.

As usual, Ichigo and Isshin were arguing about pointless topics and the three girls were shaking their heads and sighing.

"Rukia-Chan, when's your birthday?" Yuzu piped up suddenly.

"Uh...January 14th," Rukia replied a little surprised at the question, "Why do you ask, Yuzu?"

Yuzu gasped, "Rukia-Chan! That's in two days time!"

Ichigo and Isshin stopped fighting and turned their attention to Yuzu.

"What's in two days time?" Ichigo asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Rukia-Chan's Birthday," Karin replied, sounding vaguely interested, "didn't you hear?"

"Ehh…" Ichigo scratched the back of his neck and scowled before muttering something incoherent.

Suddenly, Isshin slapped Ichigo across the head.

"What the hell was that for?!" Ichigo yelled as he stood up from his seat.

"My confused little Ichigo! Can't even remember his own girlfriend's birthday! You should be asham-" Isshin was cut short when Ichigo's fist had collided with his jaw.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Ichigo shouted as he felt his cheeks burn.

"Now now, Ichigo. There's no shame in admitting your love for Rukia. She's already like my third daughter; it wouldn't really make a difference if you decided to marry he-" Isshin was once again cut short when Ichigo punched him, only this time, it was harder and it sent Isshin sailing out of his seat and rolling a few metres away.

"Shut the hell up, you old fart!" Ichigo yelled, aware of the fact that he was still blushing like mad. He spared a glance at Rukia and noticed that she too, was blushing, Rukia suddenly looked up and their eyes met. They both looked away abruptly, their blushes deepening into a darker shade of red, if it were possible of course.

"Ichii-ni, that was mean!" Yuzu huffed as she walked over to comfort a weeping Isshin.

"Oh, Masaki! Our son is so mean to his father! So cold, so cold!" Isshin cried as he threw himself against the portrait of their mother.

It took over 15 minutes for things to settle down again. When they were, once again, sitting around the dining table eating, Yuzu decided to continue with the subject of Rukia's birthday.

"So, how old are you going to be turning, Rukia-Chan?" Yuzu asked.

"…A-ano…" Rukia stammered as she glared at Ichigo to help her out.

Ichigo smirked, "16."

"Uh…yeah, 16," Rukia nodded in agreement, "…Do birthdays really matter?" she added with a confused look. "I mean, sure, another year older, but it's also another year closer to your death..."

Ichigo smirked; he thought that the comment was quite ironic considering she was already dead.

"Well, that's another way to look at it," Karin said in an amused tone.

However, Rukia's last comment had made both Isshin and Yuzu choke on their mouthful of rice.

Rukia, noticing she had said something wrong, quickly tried to cover her mistake. "Oh, you see when I was brought up, Birthdays meant nothing, it was like any ordinary day. No one really celebrated it," she said with a dramatically sad smile.

It seemed that Rukia's comments had yet another dramatic effect on Yuzu and Isshin as they started crying.

"That's so s-sad, Rukia-Chan!" Yuzu said with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Not to worry, Rukia-Chan! We'll give you a birthday to remember! We'll hold a birthday party for you!" Isshin said decisively as he hugged a crying Yuzu.

"A-ano, that's quite alright, you don't need to do that. I don't want to be any trouble," Rukia said hurriedly with a weird little laugh.

"No no, it won't be any trouble," Yuzu insisted as she walked over to Rukia and gave her a small hug. "I'll make a nice cake for you! We could have games and stuff too!"

"It'll be alright, Rukia-Chan, it might be fun," Karin said with a reassuring smile as she noticed that Rukia still looked rather unsure.

Rukia looked at Ichigo and he shrugged and said, "It's up to you, midget." She kicked him under the table. Hard.

"What the hell?!" Ichigo shouted.

Ignoring Ichigo's yells, Rukia smiled at Karin, Yuzu and Isshin. "Well, if you insist but I really don't want to be any trouble..."

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**A/N: **Well, that's chapter one finished! I'm sorry if it's boring and all... It will get better...i hope. 

Reviews would be appreciated... This is one of my first FanFictions and i'm wondering how i'm going.


	2. Everyday Combat

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach, Kubo Tite does. Get it? Got it? Good.

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** A Birthday To Remember – Chapter 2 – Everyday Combat**

The next morning, Ichigo woke up instinctively, knowing that has father would come running into his room to "wake him up" in the next 30 seconds or so. Ichigo quickly scrambled out of his bed and got dressed for school. By the time Ichigo was all dressed up for school; his father still hadn't shown his face. Ichigo couldn't help but to feel a tad bit suspicious… He opened his bedroom door cautiously, half expecting his old man to be standing outside, ready to aim a kick at his son. Ichigo looked around, his father was no where to be seen. Hoping that his father had given up this morning ritual, Ichigo descended down the stairs yawning and wearing his usual scowl.

"GOOD MORNING, ICHIGOOOOO!" Isshin cried as he came out from behind Ichigo and kicked him in the backside.

"ARRGHHH!" Ichigo yelled as he rolled down the stairs and landed on the floor with a loud 'thump'.

"You let your guard down!" Isshin said as he walked down the stairs and hurled himself at Ichigo.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Ichigo cried as he punched his father defensively. "You could have broken my neck or something! What the hell were you doing sneaking up behind me anyway?!" By now, Ichigo had several veins throbbing on his head.

"You must always expect the unexpected," Isshin declared wisely as he picked himself off the floor.

Ichigo scowled, "Expect the unexpected? Don't give me that crap!" He then proceeded over to the kitchen for breakfast.

"Our daily male bonding is not finished yet, Ichigo!" Isshin cried as he tackled Ichigo to the ground.

"Gah! BONDING? YOU CALL THIS BONDING?!" Ichigo yelled as he threw his father off with such force that Isshin fell to the floor, unconscious.

"Ichigo, stop being so quick-tempered and violent, it can't be good for your health," Rukia said loftily as Ichigo walked into the kitchen. She was sitting at the table having a breakfast of toast with Yuzu and Karin.

Ichigo's scowl deepened and he growled, "You're in no position to call anyone violent or quick-tempered, midget."

Before anyone knew what had happened, Ichigo had a piece of toast implanted on his face. "Bitch," he muttered as he peeled off the half eaten piece of toast and flung it back at Rukia. He then took the seat next to Rukia and started eating a bowl of cereal.

"Bastard," Rukia retorted as she sat back down in her seat and sent Ichigo a death glare.

Karin and Yuzu looked from Ichigo, to Rukia, and then back again. Such profanities were never used by Rukia, well, not that they knew of anyway... Perhaps their dear Ichii-ni was having a bad influence on Rukia.

"Rukia-Chan? About the birthday party, would you like to invite any of your school friends?" Yuzu asked as she nibbled on a piece of toast.

"No no, there's no need to have such a big party," Rukia said with a smile, "besides, I don't want it to be any trouble."

"It won't be any trouble, Rukia-Chan," Yuzu insisted and Karin gave a tight nod.

"Well…I guess I could invite Asano-Kun…" Rukia said with a well hidden smirk, she loved to provoke Ichigo.

Ichigo spat out his mouthful of milk and cereal and started coughing. Rukia, being the one seated closest to him, smacked him across the back several times as Yuzu and Karin looked on.

"Not so hard, you bitch!" Ichigo yelled in between coughs and wheezes.

Rukia scowled and thumped his back even harder, so hard that Ichigo was sent plummeting face first into his bowl of cereal.

"Ichii-ni!" Yuzu cried as she stood up, ready to rush to Ichigo's aid.

"Calm down, Yuzu," Karin said in a bored tone, "he didn't get knocked around so much by dad to go drown in a bowl of cereal…"

"I-I'm sorry, Ichigo!" Rukia said in between giggles and fits of laughter as Ichigo lifted his head from the bowl of cereal. Rukia then grabbed a few tissues and started wiping some of the milk off his face as she continued to laugh.

Ichigo blinked a few times as he looked at Rukia's laughing form. It was none of that fake girly, giggly crap she used at school, this was a genuine laugh and it had been a while since he had last seen it. It made him want to laugh along with her, but being Ichigo Kurosaki, all he would allow himself to do was give a small twitch of a smile. He then realised that she was still wiping the cereal off his face and he allowed his scowl to return, along with a faint blush. "I can do that myself," he growled as he grabbed the tissues and walked over to the sink, leaving a grinning Rukia and a somewhat confused Karin and Yuzu.

As Isshin walked into the kitchen, fully recovered from his earlier brawl with Ichigo, he walked up to Karin and attempted to hug her while saying, "Good morning, my lovely daughters!"

"Can it, old man," Karin said menacingly as she hit her dad on the head. Isshin retreated to the comfort of Yuzu and sat down for breakfast.

"Good morning, Rukia-Chan," Isshin said with a wide grin, "You're looking beautif-"

"Rukia, come on, we're going to be running late for school," Ichigo said, cutting his dad off.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about school," Rukia said with a rather blank expression on her face.

"Idiot," Ichigo muttered as he walked to the front door.

"Shut up," Rukia growled back as she shot him one of her famous death glares.

"Leaving already, my son?" Isshin called from the kitchen, "we shall continue our male bonding tomorrow morning, then."

"Whatever, old man," Ichigo called back as he walked out the front door with Rukia following close behind.

"What the hell? Since when was it raining?" Ichigo asked, looking genuinely surprised to see the rain falling from the sky.

"Since around 3am this morning," Rukia replied as she took out an umbrella, "Slow one aren't you?"

"Shut up," Ichigo growled, "Hey, why do you have my umbrella? Where's YOUR umbrella?"

"It broke."

"Again? What the hell do you do with your umbrellas? Duel with them? That's the 4th umbrella you've gone through."

"Shut up and walk or I'll leave you to walk in the rain," Rukia said as she started down the street.

"What the fuck? It's MY umbrella." Ichigo protested, ducking, for Rukia was holding the umbrella far too low for Ichigo's tall figure.

"Well, I'm the one holding it," Rukia said as she stuck her tongue out at him.

Ichigo's scowl deepened, "Isn't there a spare umbrella?"

"Believe me, Ichigo, if there was a spare umbrella, I'd have taken it ages ago. I even went to the trouble of asking Karin, Yuzu and your dad."

Ichigo rolled his eyes, "Damn it, Rukia. Can't you hold that umbrella up higher?"

"I can't," Rukia said through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, 'cause you're so damn short!" Ichigo grumbled as he crouched below the umbrella, it was starting to make his back hurt… With one decisive and swift movement, Ichigo grabbed the umbrella from Rukia's grasp.

"Hey, Ichigo!" Rukia whined as she slapped him across the head.

"Watch it, bitch," Ichigo growled as he rubbed his sore head. "You don't know your own strength do you? Besides, I'm not walking like a hunchback all the way to school."

"Jerk…"

"Shut up and walk"

With that, they fell into a comfortable silence as they walked to school.

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**A/N: **And that's chapter 2...I'm sorry if it's still boring.

Thank you all very much for the reviews, they are appreciated very muchly. Hehe...muchly. xD Keep the reviews coming in, i'd still like to know how i'm going.

I'll probably update in a few days or so with chapter 3. Once again, thank you all.


	3. The Perfect Gift For An Artistic Midget

**Disclaimer:** No, i don't know Bleach. -Young and Penniless-

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**A Birthday To Remember - Chapter 3 – The Perfect Gift to Give**

"Good morning, Kuchiki-san, Kurosaki-kun," Inoue said with a bright smile as Rukia and Ichigo walked into the classroom looking rather…disgruntled.

"Good morning, Inoue-san!" Rukia said with a bright smile and she walked over to her friend.

"Good morning," Ichigo said as he strolled past Rukia and Inoue to join his own group of friends at his seat.

"Kurosaki," Ishida acknowledged as he slid his glasses back up his nose.

"Ichigoooooo!" Keigo cried as he threw himself at Ichigo for a hug.

"Piss off," Ichigo growled as he punched Keigo square in the face.

"Owww," Keigo cried with rivers of tears running down his cheeks. "Mizuiro, Ichigo's bullying me!" Keigo said as he ran towards Mizuiro for comfort.

"Oh, come on, Keigo; Ichigo's always like that. You know he doesn't mean it, right, Ichigo?" Mizuiro said.

Ichigo grunted in response.

"Good morning," Chad said in that deep voice of his as he entered the classroom.

"Morning, Chad," Ichigo, Keigo, Mizuiro and Ishida said in unison.

"Kuchiki-san!" Keigo cried, having finally spotted Rukia (slow one ain't he? But we love him that way, right?). He then proceeded to walk over to Rukia's group of friends and throw himself at her for a hug.

"Ahh, good morning, Asano-kun," Rukia replied as she gracefully evaded Keigo's hug by stepping to the side to pick up a random piece of paper on the floor.

"Kuchiki-san, you're looking as beautiful as ever today, perhaps even mor-"

Keigo was cut off when Ichigo punched him in the head and said, "Cut the crap, man. Besides, there's no way that midget can be regarded as beau-"

Ichigo was also cut off, but this was due to the fact that their teacher had just arrived. As everyone murmured their greetings to the teacher, the class settled down in their seats. As usual, Rukia sat on her table beside Ichigo, making sure to tread on Ichigo's feet as she walked to her seat. Ichigo winced but remained silent.

As the teacher worked her way up to a long lecture about maths equations, Ichigo found it really hard to keep focused. Not that he found it easy to be focused every other day, but today was just extra hard. He glanced at Ishida, who was currently taking notes and listening to the teacher very intently. Ichigo let out a loud snort; this earned him stares from several students. Cursing slightly under his breath, Ichigo quickly turned his snort into a string of light coughs.

Rukia looked up at Ichigo as he started coughing; she had a look of concern on her face. She wondered if he had a piece of cereal stuck in his throat of something… Though, all her concern for Ichigo disappeared when he looked up and scowled at her. She responded by sticking out her tongue at him as he rolled his eyes and looked out the window.

Ichigo sighed inwardly as he continued to stare out the window, he could barely even hear the teacher's voice droning on and on while he drifted deep into thought. It was still raining, he noted to himself. He hoped that it would stop tomorrow, because it was Rukia's birthday and he knew that she didn't like the rain. He then scolded himself for caring so much, more importantly; he wondered why he cared so much. He racked his brains for the answer to that one question, but he couldn't find it. He sighed and came to the conclusion that it was because she was his friend and he wanted her to be happy. A part of his brain was in doubt of whether this was the answer or not, but Ichigo pushed this thought away as he attempted to follow on to what the teacher was saying.

The day wore on with things going relatively normal, Rukia shoving her juice box infront of his face, Keigo getting hurt, arguing with Rukia, attending boring lessons and arguing with Rukia some more…

By the time the bell signalling that school was over for the day, Ichigo was bored out of his mind. For once, he had actually hoped that a hollow would appear, just to give him something to do.

"Hurry up, midget, I don't have all day," Ichigo said as he waited for Rukia to finish packing her back pack.

"Shut it, strawberry," Rukia scoffed as she walked past Ichigo and out the classroom.

"What did you just call me?" Ichigo asked, bewildered as he followed Rukia out the classroom.

"Strawberry, Ichigo means strawberry doesn't it?"

"…"

"Doesn't it?"

"Hn…It can also mean he who protects,"

"Oh…I prefer strawberry though,"

Ichigo grunted as he turned from Rukia and started to walk away.

"Oi! Ichigo, what the hell are you doing? That's not the way home," Rukia called out to him. "I mean, it's not the way to your house," she quickly added.

"Yeah, I know that, turd face, but I need to go and buy yo-," Ichigo stopped abruptly, he almost blurted that he was going to get her a present. "Buy Yuzu some cooking utensils," he said, attempting to correct himself.

"…Right, can I come along?" Rukia asked, genuinely interested, she hadn't been to the supermarket before.

"Uhh…" Ichigo slapped himself mentally, what was he going to say now? "Well, Rukia, there's a…err…Chappy marathon on TV at around..uhh…4pm. If you miss that then that's it. I'm not renting anymore DVDs for you." A white lie every now and then wouldn't hurt would it? Yet, Ichigo shuddered at the thought of Rukia after she found out that the Chappy marathon was non-existent.

"Really?" Rukia squealed, her eyes shining with excitement. "Well, I'll see you later then, Ichigo." With that, she sped off 'home' while humming the Chappy theme song.

Ichigo sighed at her retreating form; he felt a slight pang of guilt but he shrugged it off as he started to walk to the Karakura shopping district. He still had no idea what to get Rukia, not that he had really thought about it anyway. He tried to remember the things that Rukia liked; drawing, rabbits, orange juice…hurting him…

By the time Ichigo had reached the shopping district, a few shops had already been getting ready to close. He sighed softly; he still had no idea what to get Rukia. Thinking that he'd eventually find something suitable for that midget, Ichigo walked past the shops while glancing at their display cases. (Window shopping?)

After about 30 minutes, Ichigo still hadn't found anything that he thought would interest Rukia. He considered getting her some flowers, but he wanted to get her something…useful and interesting. That's when he spotted a rather small and dark antique store down the road. When Ichigo walked up to the store to see what it offered, he saw some pretty interesting handcrafted masks and jewellery sets. It also appeared that the shop doubled as an art store, he grinned. Though, he wondered if buying things from a shabby looking store was wise.

As Ichigo walked into the door of the art store, an elderly man was just about to walk out. Ichigo appeared to have startled the man a bit, seeing as the old man let out a jolt of surprise.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that…" Ichigo said apologetically.

"That's quite alright, young man. You've come in just in time, I was just about to close up for the day," the elderly man said in a kind voice.

"You're the owner?" Ichigo asked with an air of surprise. "Oh, I mean of course you're the owner… I'm sorry if I'm keeping you away from closing up, I can leave if you want."

"No no, don't worry;" the man said with a curt smile, "I've all the time in the world, so how may I help you, young sir?"

"Ahh…You see… I just wanted a birthday present for someone…" Ichigo said as he took a good look around at the store. Small didn't even begin to describe it, it was minute and hundreds of books were crammed together on bookcases. As he scanned counters full of drawing and painting materials, something bright caught his eye.

Ichigo walked over to a set of different coloured pencils which featured a rabbit print on them. He picked up a bright green pencil and turned it over, the name "Annabelle" was imprinted on a side of the pencil. He glanced at the other pencils in the set and noticed that they all had "Annabelle" imprinted on them in gold lettering. Ichigo grinned stupidly at the pencil set, it was perfect for Rukia.

"Ahh, those pencils are pretty popular with the young girls at the moment," the old man said, hurtling Ichigo back to reality. "Are you trying to find a gift for your daughter?"

Ichigo blinked several times and surveyed the old man before he realised what the man had just said. He blushed faintly and stammered, "No…no. Nothing like that! I-I'm too young and besides i…uhh…"

The man chuckled lightly, "You're more innocent than you look…Well, I'm guessing the gift is for a special someone?"

Special someone? Yeah, that's what Rukia is… "Yeah," Ichigo answered without hesitation.

"I see, likes rabbits does she?"

"You have no idea."

The man chuckled again, "So, what's this special someone's name?"

"Rukia," Ichigo replied, "Hey how much are these pencils gonna cost?"

"$25.99 for the set of pencils, it's $10 extra if you want the name on it," the man answered as he walked towards an old looking cashier machine.

"Oh, right," Ichigo said as he followed the man to the cashier machine. He then rummaged through his wallet for the money.

"You seem like a nice lad, I'll cut off the $10 extra for putting the name on," the man said with a wink.

"No, there's no need," Ichigo insisted as he handed the man $40.

"Oh, but there is a need. For young love, I shall sacrifice $10 profit!" the man said with his eyes twinkling. Ichigo was suddenly reminded of Isshin.

"She's not my girlfriend! So there's really is no ne--" Ichigo was cut short when the man handed him $14 change.

The man smiled knowingly, "So Rukia, was it?"

"Yeah," Ichigo said with a nod, "Hey, take this $10 note back."

"No, it's yours."

"No, take it!" Ichigo said with a slight scowl.

"My, are you trying to harass an elderly man? That's not the way to treat the elderly," the man said.

"What? No!" Ichigo said indignantly.

"Then it's settled," the man said with a grin, "I'll have the pencils ready for you in two days time."

Ichigo's heart sank. "Two days? Uhm…could it be any quicker?"

"Oh? Well, I suppose…When do you need it done by?"

"Tomorrow night, the latest."

"Well, I could manage that," the man said, though he looked deep in thought. "Come back tomorrow at around 7pm."

"Oh, sure. And thank you. Goodbye" Ichigo said as he walked out the door, not before leaving a $10 note on a counter of course.

He then set out back home. It was growing pretty dark now and the street lights were already on. As he was halfway home, the rain started up again, yet, he didn't really notice it. He had other thoughts to deal with…such as what to do when he got home to a pissed off Rukia…

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**A/N:** Ok..well...that in my opinion was pretty boring... xD Though, i just wanted Ichigo to come to turns with some of his feelings for Rukia. I'll probably make the next chapter more fluff-filled to make up for the lack of it in this chapter... And thank you for the reviews, everyone, they are appreciated. 


	4. Unexpected

**Disclaimer :** Yeah, I own Bleach. That's why I'm writing fanfictions… No really, Kubo Tite owns Bleach.

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**A Birthday to Remember - Chapter 4 - Unexpected**

"Damn that Ichigo…" Rukia murmured to herself as she walked out the front door of the Kurosaki residence. It was getting pretty late now and it was raining—no, it was pouring. She wondered where Ichigo had gone to; she was actually worried about him! Rukia snorted and opened up Ichigo's umbrella as she started down the street, in search of Ichigo. She should've let him keep his damn umbrella! She shuddered as the wind blew and looked down at her clothing; she had forgotten to put on a jacket. "**Great**," Rukia cursed as she continued her search.

As the rain fell harder than ever, Ichigo cursed under his breath. Was this what he got for lying to Rukia? He scowled and started to dash down the street. With the rain in his eyes, he couldn't see much. Still, it came to a surprise that he would bump into someone…

"Arrgghhhh!" Rukia screamed as someone pushed her to the ground, she felt the umbrella loosen from her grip.

Ichigo looked down at the ground, seeing a small, raven haired girl at his feet. "I'm so sorry," he said apologetically as he offered the girl a hand. As the girl looked up, he saw her eyes widen in surprise. Ichigo himself, yelled in shock and sprang backwards, "R-Rukia?! What the hell?"

"IDIOT," Rukia screamed as she picked herself up off the floor. "What do you mean what the hell? I'm supposed to be the one asking that! Are you blind or something?!"

"What!?" Ichigo yelled back, "You came out of nowhere, it's not my fault!"

"What? So it's my fault now, is it?" Rukia retorted.

"Yeah, it is!"

"Maybe if you weren't so incapable of seeing things…"

"Maybe if you weren't so short, I'd have seen you!"

"Oh!" Rukia scoffed as her face heated up in rage, "YOU BASTARD!"

"Hostile midget!" Ichigo yelled back.

Rukia blinked at Ichigo's latest insult; he had taken it one step too far…

Ichigo waited for Rukia's comeback, after a few seconds, his face broke into a large smirk, "What? Run out of insults already? Man, I thought you were better than th--" He stopped as Rukia suddenly threw herself at him, attempting to tackle him.

"YOU'RE GOING TO REGRET THAT!" Rukia screamed as she flung herself at Ichigo.

Ichigo yelled in shock as he wrestled and struggled with Rukia in an attempt to stay upright. "AHH! GET OFF ME! OI!" Ichigo yelled as he staggered around like a drunk, he was beginning to loose his balance.

"Oh, shit," Rukia cursed as she felt Ichigo start to loose balance, "Alright, ALRIGHT. Just stay sti- HEY! ICHI- OH HELL NAW! AHHHHH!"

Ichigo had finally lost his footing and he tumbled onto the floor….taking Rukia along with him. They somehow found themselves in an awkward position with Rukia lying on top of Ichigo and their legs in a tangled mess.

Rukia gasped and stared down at Ichigo, she wanted to yell at him but she couldn't string the words together in her brain, all she could do was look into his chocolate brown eyes. Rukia felt her cheeks burn.

Ichigo was in shock as he stared back up at Rukia. He wanted to yell at her to get off him, but he felt that his brain was dead. The only thing that he could think of was how beautiful Rukia looked…

As lightning flashed and thunder sounded in the near distance, the two death gods were finally brought back to their senses. It was only then that they realised that it was still raining and that they were both drenched from the rain.

"You. Are. An. Idiot." Rukia screeched as she quickly detangled her limbs from his and scrambled up. She was grateful for the fact that it was dark, or else Ichigo might've seen her blush…

"What? Don't I get an apology? You're the one that knocked me onto the ground! Stupid midget…Now I'm all wet…" Ichigo said, gritting his teeth. He could not believe he just called this midget **beautiful** just a minute ago…

"Can it, Strawberry, you were drenched from head to toe from walking in the rain before you even saw me," Rukia retorted as she walked over her/Ichigo's discarded umbrella and picked it up. She spared a glance at Ichigo and raised an eye-brow when she saw that he was still on the ground. "Hey, why the hell are you still on the ground? If you're trying to imitate a hobo, you're doing a pretty good job."

Ichigo bolted up into a sitting position and glared at Rukia. "If I must remind you, you're currently living in **my** house. Wouldn't that make **you** more of a hobo? Or at the very lease; a free-loader?" Ichigo then stood up and walked over to Rukia where he crouched under his umbrella. "Oh, and give my back my umbrella."

Rukia's face darkened, "You have no right to speak to a Kuchiki like that! You-"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," Ichigo sighed as he, once again, grabbed the umbrella out of Rukia's hands and started to walk back to his house.

"Hey! Ichigo! What the hell? I'm not finished with this conversation! Don't whatever me!" Rukia fumed. She felt the umbrella slip out of her hands, but she didn't protest about that. "ICHIGO! ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?! OI! ICHIGO." This carrot top was really getting on her nerves right now…

Ichigo ignored his companion and focused his attention to the dark sky above. He wanted to see the moon, shining through all those dark clouds, it brought back memories of his mum. He could hear Rukia still ranting on about something, but he continued to ignore her. Ichigo scanned the sky; there was no sign of the moon, not today anyway. He sighed and a troubled expression crossed his face for a brief moment.

Rukia had noticed that Ichigo was troubled by something. She was just about to yell at him for ignoring her, but she would let it slide this time. Rukia hated to see her friend down; she wanted to reassure him, to tell him that everything would be ok. But she couldn't find the right words, so she did the second thing that popped into her mind. She gripped his free hand in her small, delicate ones, a small smile played on her lips.

Ichigo was startled at this sudden contact; he looked down at Rukia and noted the smile on her face. He grinned in response, even though she probably wouldn't see it. He quickened his pace so that he was sort of dragging her along by the hand, "Come on, let's hurry home for dinner."

"You mean your home," Rukia corrected as she tried to keep up with Ichigo.

"You've a place in my house too, you know," Ichigo drawled. "Yuzu and Karin regard you as the sister they never had and dad… Well, dad…" Ichigo struggled for the right words. "Dad really…likes you too. Actually, 'like' is an understatement."

Rukia grinned, the Kurosaki household felt so much more like home than the Kuchiki mansion back in Soul Society.

Ichigo continued on, "So anyway, think of my house as your second home."

"Yeah, I will…" Rukia replied, which was half a lie, considering she never regarded the Kuchiki mansion as 'home.'

The two walked in a comfortable silence until Rukia remembered something…"Hey Ichigo, what happened to that Chappy marathon…?"

Ichigo slapped himself mentally, "Well…uhh…what are you talking about? Didn't it air?"

Rukia narrowed her eyes, "How do you know it didn't air?"

"What?" Ichigo spluttered, "I didn't! I mean, I didn't know it didn't air. I was just guessing. Haha," Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Liar."

"What?! I wasn't lying!"

"Stop lying!"

"I wasn't lying! You're just…paranoid or something!"

Rukia reached up and slapped Ichigo across the forehead, "I am not paranoid, you just wanted to get rid of me this afternoon.You stupid carrot top."

"I didn't want to get rid of you," Ichigo muttered.

Rukia sneezed, she was tired, cold and not really in the mood to argue. "Whatever. I'll get you back some other day…"

"You're not coming down with the cold are you?" Ichigo asked, he was pleased that Rukia had finally dropped the topic of Chappy. He needed to think about how he could weasel out of this one…

"I dunno, why do you care?"

"Because…midget, if you get sick, I have to take care of you and besides…" Ichigo trailed away and finished by murmuring something about making him worried. Rukia smirked and they continued to walk.

When they finally reached the Kurosaki household, Ichigo stopped at the front door. What were they gonna tell Isshin? He was late for dinner, Rukia was with him, and they were both soaked from the rain… Why **had **Rukia been walking around the streets in the first place?

"Rukia, why were you walking around earlier, and in this weather too…" Ichigo asked as he turned to face her.

Rukia blinked and looked away "Ahh. Well… becauseiwasworr-"

She was cut off when the front door slammed open to reveal a weeping Isshin. "Ahh! Ichigooo! Rukiaaa-chaaan! HORRAY, YOU'RE ALRIGHT!" Then Isshin caught the sight of the two teens holding hands, he grinned manically. "ICHIGO'S FINALLY DECLARED HIS LOVE FOR RUKIA-CHAN!" he bellowed. "Daddy is so happy!"

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry that I haven't updated in a long time…and that this was a crap chapter. I couldn't think of that much fluffy stuff… 

I've got a full week of exams next week, so please don't be disappointed if theres no update next week either.

And thanks for the reviews, everyone.


	5. You Invited WHO?

**Disclaimer:** I don't have the skill to own Bleach…but Kubo Tite does!

* * *

Chapter 4 flash back

_She [Rukia was cut off when the front door slammed open to reveal a weeping Isshin. "Ahh! Ichigooo! Rukiaaa-chaaan! HORRAY, YOU'RE ALRIGHT!" Then Isshin caught the sight of the two teens holding hands, he grinned maniacally. "ICHIGO'S FINALLY DECLARED HIS LOVE FOR RUKIA-CHAN" he bellowed. "Daddy is so happy"_

* * *

**A Birthday To Remember  
Chapter 5  
You invited…WHO?!**

Ichigo and Rukia glared at Isshin as if he was crazy, then they glanced at their entwined hands…

Ichigo bellowed incoherently as he pulled his hand away from Rukia's as if it burnt him.

Rukia did her best to hide her embarrassment by laughing one of her girlish, fake giggles. She was also actually just stalling for an idea to explain their former entwined hands. There was no way she was telling Ichigo's family the truth…she didn't even know why she took his hand in the first place anymore…

The annoying and very fake giggle from Rukia was enough to put Ichigo out of his state of shock, allowing him to register what his dad has said before. Ichigo exploded into a range of curse words and violent gestures at his dad as he threw the umbrella onto the ground.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN, OLD MAN?! ME?! ME and HER?!" Ichigo pointed to Rukia, who maintained a calm and rather stoic expression.

Isshin nodded gleefully and ran back into the house and threw himself at the poster of Masaki. "OH, MASAKI! I TOLD YOU THAT ICHIGO HAS FOUND A GIRLFRIEND!"

"WHAT THE FUCK? HEY! GET BACK HERE OLD MAN!" Ichigo yelled as he chased his father into the dining room where the poster of his mother was.

Yuzu and Karin looked up from their dinner. Yuzu looked positively dumb-struck whereas Karin looked completely bored.

Rukia sighed inwardly as she shut the front door and picked up the long-forgotten umbrella and placed it in it's stand. She walked into the dining room and noted that the family was still halfway through dinner. She walked down the hallway and into the twins room, hoping to find something to change into.

Isshin ignored Ichigo and continued to talk to the poster of Masaki, "See, Masaki? I was actually starting to get worried about the fact that Ichigo was gay!" Isshin then burst into a fit of laughter as tears of joy continued to flow down his face.

Ichigo's face darkened, words couldn't convey what he felt right now. The closest word there was would probably be 'murderous'. Ichigo walked briskly towards his father and kicked him in the back, sending Isshin face first into the poster of his mum and the wall.

Isshin groaned and slid down the wall slowly, in a comical way.

"Ichigo!" Yuzu huffed as she glanced worriedly at her father on the floor.

"Can't say he didn't deserve it," Karin drawled.

Ichigo grunted and sat down at the dinner table as if nothing had happened.

"Ichigo, where's Rukia-chan?" Karin asked, "And why are your clothes wet?"

"Uuh…I forgot my umbrella," Ichigo muttered, "Wait…where _is_ Rukia?"

"Right here," Rukia said as she walked into the dinning room and took her usual seat next to Ichigo. She had changed into yet another sun dress. Rukia glanced at Ichigo, "You should change you know, you getting a cold won't do anyone any good."

"Tch. I don't need you to tell me that," Ichigo said with a scowl as he got up from his seat and walked into his room for a change of clothes.

By the time Ichigo emerged from his room again, Isshin had recovered from Ichigo's blow and was having dinner with the rest of the family. They appeared to be talking about Rukia's birthday the next day.

"Well, you know, I can cook all the food!" Yuzu said brightly, a twinkle in her eyes, "and I'll make you this beautiful, big cake…"

Isshin glanced at Ichigo as he sat down, Isshin grinned mischievously. "Yuzu, make it a big, five decker, white cake. Oh, and put pink love hearts everywhere!"

Ichigo looked at his father, "What the hell? Whose getting married."

Isshin was almost beside himself with amusement now; he really did have an idiot for a son. "You are, of course, and to the lovely Rukia-chan aswell!"

Rukia choked on her mouthful of rice and started into a coughing fit. Ichigo thumped her on the back lightly, as much as he wanted to pay her back from this morning [refer chapter 2, he didn't actually want to hurt her. Ichigo was too busy with helping Rukia than to even retort to Isshin right now.

"Ahh…young love!" Isshin said loudly as tears of joy, once again, flowed down his cheeks.

"Shut up, old man," Karin said impassively.

"Awww, Karin, why are you so mean to your own father?" Isshin feigned hurt.

"Damn. I used to keep telling myself I was adopted…" Karin groaned.

"So, Rukia-chan? Can I make the food for your party? Please?" Yuzu asked the now expressionless Rukia.

Ichigo's right eye twitched, the lack of expression on Rukia's face kept reminding him of a certain Gotei 13 squad leader by the name of 'Kuchiki Byakuya'. Ichigo shuddered.

"Of course, Yuzu. Your cooking really is the best," Rukia answered with a radiant smile.

"YAY!" Yuzu cheered as she rushed over the table and gave Rukia a tight hug. "Thank you, Rukia-chan."

"No, no, I should be the one thanking you," Rukia said with a laugh.

"Oh, Rukia-chan, we invited that Asano guy. Asano Keigo or something," Karin informed her.

"WHAT?!" Ichigo yelled as he stood up from his chair in a quick motion.

"Ichi-ni? What's wrong?" Yuzu asked worriedly.

"Why the he- Why of all the people in the world would you invite Keigo?" Ichigo asked, bewildered. He didn't want Keigo near Rukia… He didn't want his sisters to be around the likes of Keigo either…

"Well, Rukia-chan said she wanted to invite him this morning, didn't you, Rukia-chan?" Yuzu turned to Rukia.

Rukia looked at Yuzu dumbfounded, "Uh…Did i?" Then she remembered this morning where she had said it to piss Ichigo off. "Oh…I did…" she groaned.

Ichigo groaned too, "Great…that perv's gonna be all over this house… We're going to have to boil whatever he touches…Wait…how did you invite him?"

"Ahh…that Asano Keigo guy? He seems a decent fellow!" Isshin piped up. "I invited him this afternoon."

"Your standards must be pretty low to deem Keigo as decent…" Ichigo muttered.

"…I also went to the trouble of inviting all your classmates!" Isshin declared proudly.

"WHAT?!" Ichigo bellowed.

"Ichi-ni. This is Rukia's party, why do you care so much?" Karin inquired.

Ichigo flushed and stammered out random words. "U-uh. Well, for one thing, this is my house. Second of all, she doesn't want them here either!"

"How do you know? Rukia-chan, do you want your classmates here?" Isshin asked.

All eyes turned to Rukia, who sat there still looking rather shocked. "Uuh…of course I want them here!" Rukia replied with a fake, girlish giggle.

Ichigo groaned and rolled his eyes. He knew she only said that to piss him off…

"Well, then it's settled!" Isshin declared. "Yuzu and I will get to planning the schedule for the party. You don't have to worry about a thing, Rukia-chan!"

Rukia smiled and laughed nervously, "Why, thank you, Isshin-san, Yuzu-chan. You too, Karin-chan."

"What are family for?" Isshin asked with a grin. "Now why don't you two teens go and do…whatever teens do." Isshin winked at Ichigo.

Ichigo gagged. "Old hentai…" He then proceeded to walk out of the dining room and into his room.

A few minutes later, Rukia opened the door to his room- without knocking as usual. She plopped herself on Ichigo's bed, "Hey, Ichigo, you sure it's ok that your family is throwing me a party?"

"They said it was ok, didn't they?" Ichigo answered with a raised eyebrow.

"I…guess…" Rukia said thoughtfully. "But…what if things go wrong…What if a hollow comes tomorrow or something?"

"They told you not to worry about anything, I'm sure things are gonna run smoothly." Ichigo reassured her.

"Whatever…" Rukia murmured as she got up from the bed and walked towards the door. As she opened the door, she turned back to look at Ichigo, "Hey, Ichigo, thanks."

"…What for?" Ichigo asked.

"…I don't know…" Rukia answered puzzled as she pulled his door close.

* * *

That night, Ichigo and Rukia lay awake in their rooms. 

"_You don't have to worry about a thing!" _Ichigo scoffed at what Isshin had said earlier that evening. He sure hoped that he wouldn't have to worry about anything…

"_They told you not to worry about anything, I'm sure things are gonna run smoothly."_ Rukia smiled unconsciously at Ichigo's reassurance. She sure hoped he was right…He should hope so too, because he was going to get hurt if he was wrong…

* * *

**Authors Note:** Yay! Another chapter. Yes, I took my time. xD  
The next chapter is the big day! I'm gonna have fun writing that up. xD  
Once again, thank you guys for the reviews. They are appreciated.  
…I wonder if people even read the A/Ns. xD  
I think I'm abusing 'xD'…xD 


	6. The Calm Before The Storm

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach.

* * *

**A Birthday To Remember  
Chapter 6  
The Calm Before The Storm  
**

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RUKIA-CHAN!" the Kurosakis yelled out to Rukia as she walked dazedly into the dining room. The first thing she noticed was that Ichigo was not there, not that she cared anyway…or did she? Rukia shrugged it off and put on a smile. "Ooooh, thank you, Yuzu-chan, Karin-chan and Isshin-san! I'm so happy today!"

"You're welcome, Rukia-chan!" Yuzu and Karin said simultaneously.

"None of that 'Isshin-san' stuff, Rukia-chan. Just call me dad!" Isshin said with a hearty laugh.

Rukia smiled and laughed along.

"She's not your daughter, what the hell?" Ichigo scolded as he walked into the room.

Isshin's eyes widened at the sight of Ichigo, "MY SON! I HAVE FORGOTTEN OUR DAILY BONDING SESSION!" He launched himself at Ichigo.

"WHAA?!" Ichigo yelled as the leapt aside, just in time, to send Isshin crashing into a wall.

"Ahh. Your speed has increased drastically! YOU REALLY ARE MY SON!" Isshin announced proudly. "Now, dodge THIS!" Isshin grabbed a pretty, china vase with flower prints on it and sent it hurtling towards Ichigo.

Ichigo ducked, forcing the china vase to smash into a wall and shatter into a million pieces. Yuzu screamed.

"DAD! That was my present to Rukia-chan!" Yuzu wept.

"Old man, don't just throw anything that's lying around on a table!" Karin roared.

"W-what?" Isshin stammered. "Yuzu! Daddy is so sorry!" He started pulling funny faces and dancing around the room to try and cease Yuzu's crying.

"Idiot…" Karin and Ichigo muttered.

"A-ano…Yuzu-chan. Isshin-san, let's just have breakfast," Rukia said with a nervous laugh.

"I-i'm sorry, Rukia-chan! I'll get you another present!" Yuzu said, bowing to Rukia.

"No! That won't be necessary," Rukia insisted.

"I'll pay for it, Yuzu!" Isshin said, looking rather deadpanned.

"No, no, it's alright," Rukia said, "besides, you're already holding that birthday party for me."

"Are you sure?" Yuzu asked.

"Yes, I'm sure," Rukia said with a laugh.

"Can we have breakfast now?" Ichigo scolded as Isshin opened his mouth to say something.

Yuzu nodded and began serving 'Rukia-chan's Special Birthday Celebration Breakfast' which actually turned out to be pancakes and orange juice…

"You can eat yummy things at the party tonight," Yuzu had stated.

After the breakfast, Rukia followed Ichigo up to his room so he could collect his school bag.

"Rukia-nee-chan!!!" Kon yelled as he threw himself at her.

Rukia didn't even respond, she merely kicked him square in his lion face and let him drop to the ground.

"Ahh…what a familiar feeling of pain…" Kon sighed. Then he stood up, "Hey, Nee-chan, what's up Ichigo's ass today? He looks extra scary."

Rukia smirked, "I dunno, but it must be something big…"

Ichigo coughed, "Can you PLEASE not talk about me as if I'm not in the room!?"

"Awww, Kurosaki-kun, we we're just joking," Rukia feigned hurt in her school girl act.

Ichigo pushed all the thoughts of how cute Rukia looked like that to the back of his head. Yet, he couldn't help the blush that was creeping it's way to his face.

"Hey, Ichigo, are you alright?" Rukia asked in a worried tone. "You've turned red of a sudden…"

Ichigo scowled, "O-of course I'm alright!" he then walked to the doorway of his room.

"Whatever," Rukia shrugged as she followed Ichigo.

"Well, I'll be going to check out the goddesses in this town," Kon said as he proceeded to run out of the room. Unfortunately, he caught his plushie leg on the foot of Ichigo's bed and went flying towards Rukia's back.

"GAH!" Rukia screamed as she was pushed full throttle at Ichigo.

As Ichigo turned around to look at all the commotion, his eyes widened at the sight of Rukia flying at him.

OOF. Ichigo's back had hit the opposing wall behind him and Rukia was pressed against his chest, she had also grabbed the front of Ichigo's shirt to keep her balance. Ichigo had also unconsciously wrapped his arms around Rukia's waist to steady her.

"Ouch…" Ichigo groaned, his eyes widened as he looked down and saw Rukia looking up at him. Rukia squeaked…

"Uh…are you alright?" Ichigo asked dumbly as he felt a blush creep to his face again.

"Y-yeah…" Rukia answered, also blushing as she let go of her grip on Ichigo's shirt. Being so close to Ichigo made Rukia want to stand on her tippee toes and…ki-

"ICHIGO!" Kon yelled, "What are you doing to my beloved, Nee-chan?"

"WHAT? NOTHING!" Ichigo yelled as he quickly let go of Rukia and grabbed his bag that had fallen on the ground.

"WERE YOU TRYING RA-" Kon's words were cut short when Rukia kicked him into a wall. The stupid toy had just ruined a perfectly nice moment- ew. Gross. She so did not want to kiss that stupid strawberry…

"Come on," Ichigo scowled, "We'll be late for school." He then grabbed Rukia's hand and literally dragged her out of the house while yelling to his family that they were leaving.

This time, there was a rather awkward silence, but it didn't really matter to the two. They were both so lost in their own thoughts anyway… As they neared the school, Ichigo gingerly, almost hesitantly, let go of Rukia's hand.

Rukia glanced at him, there was that usual scowl upon his face, she sighed.

"Good morning, Kurosaki-kun! And…HAPPY BIRTHDAY! KUCHIKI-SAN!" Orihime yelled out as Ichigo and Rukia walked into the room. Orihime skipped over to Rukia and engulfed her in a tight embrace.

Rukia made choking noises and spluttered out, "T-thank you, Inoue-san…"

Ichigo just nodded at Orihime and walked over to his own group of friends. Everyone; Ishida, Chad, Keigo and Muzuiro were already there. Ichigo could still hear the girl's squealing and screaming about the party from the other side of the classroom.

"Hey, Ichigo, why is Kuchiki-san's party being held at your house?" Keigo asked, looking very puzzled.

"Ahh…" Ichigo strained to find a good excuse. "Well…she…her…Her parents are close friends with mine and…uh…they said their…house was too small…?"

Keigo nodded and grinned, "I see…I was beginning to think that you guys lived together!"

Ishida slid his glasses up the bridge of his nose and Chad coughed slightly.

Ichigo laughed nervously, not knowing what to say. He should thank Keigo for being such an idiot…

"So, she ended up inviting the whole class?" Mizuiro asked.

"Yeah… I guess…" Ichigo replied. "So..are you guys all going?"

The guys nodded.

"I don't think everyone will fit…" Ishida murmured

"Well, what are you gonna do about it? Let me hold a party in the hospital?" Ichigo asked sarcastically.

"Well, your face, Kurosaki, should get most of the patients out of their beds and scampering away…" Ishida replied.

"Oh..you bastard…" Ichigo growled as his face darkened.

"KUROSAKI, mind your language!" the teacher said as she entered the room. "You morons, get back to your seats." She addressed a group of punks at the back of the room.

* * *

The school day went by pretty normally up until lunchtime, when Ichigo walked up to Rukia and dragged her up to rooftop. He could hear yells of "Ichigo! What are you doing to Kuchiki-saaaan" from Keigo. 

"Uwah, what was that for, idiot," Rukia said as he let go of her. She then kicked Ichigo in the shin.

"Ouch! Damn you, midget!" Ichigo yelled.

"All the girls are coming tonight, to my party…" Rukia said suddenly.

"I'd assume a majority of the guys are coming too…" Ichigo said with a yawn.

"…Are they all gonna fit?" Rukia asked.

Ichigo shrugged, "Who knows…who cares."

Rukia rolled her eyes, "So what did you drag me up her for?"

"Uhh…nothing…"

"What the hell? You freaking moron," Rukia growled as she kicked Ichigo in the shin again.

"Ow! Crazy bitch!" Ichigo said as he fell to the floor and nursed his shin.

Rukia stuck her tongue out at him and started to walk away.

"Hey, Rukia!" Ichigo called after her.

Rukia turned around, "What?"

"Happy Birthday…" Ichigo said, with a slight blush.

Rukia smirked, "Thanks, Ic-Kurosaki-kun." She had resorted to calling Ichigo 'Kurosaki-kun' because Keigo had just appeared on the rooftop, along with Mizuiro. "Hello, Asano-kun, Kojima-kun, Bye," she added as she jogged past them and down the stairs.

"What were you and Kuchiki-san talking about?" Keigo demanded as he sat down next to Ichigo.

"The party," Ichigo answered, it wasn't a lie.

"Oh, Ichigo! I know what we can do at the party! We can watch por-" Keigo stopped abruptly as Ichigo knocked him unconscious with a punch.

"Stupid hentai…worse than my dad!" Ichigo muttered.

"Ichigo, you're so mean," Mizuiro sighed.

"Shut up!" Ichigo growled.

"Speaking of the party though, it'll probably be the biggest one of the year. I overheard people saying that they were going to bring their girlfriends, boyfriends, brothers, cousins or whatever along." Mizuiro said.

Ichigo's mouth dropped open, there was no way everyone was gonna be able to fit in his house… "It's not gonna be the party of the year…it's gonna be the disaster of the year!" Ichigo moaned.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry, sorry. I was going to put the party in this chapter too and finish this fan fiction off… But then I kind of went off track…xD  
Next chapter, definitely. x)  
Once again, thanks to the reviewers. 


	7. It's Going To Be Absolutely Fine

**Disclaimer : **No, i don't own Bleach. D:

* * *

**A Birthday To Remember - Chapter 7 - "It's Going To Be Absolutely Fine..."**

DING DING DING

The familiar sound of the school bell signaled the end of the school, echoing through the hallways and classrooms. Almost in an instant, an uproar of students poured out to the hallways, laughing and chattering animatedly amongst one another.

Yet in an upstairs classroom, a certain orange haired teenager sat firmly in his chair, the scowl on his face deepening. He counted down the hours before the disaster that would befall on his house – Rukia's birthday party. "Three hours…" he muttered to himself darkly… "only three hours…" '_before my house is swarmed by a hundred or so teenagers with raging hormones_' he added mentally.

"Three hours? Ichigo, you're excited about the party too aren't you" Asano Keigo piped up, overhearing Ichigo's almost inaudible whispers. Keigo grinned widely, "Three hours before my lovely Rukia-chan's birthday party" he continued to prance about the near empty classroom." Keigo paused abruptly, his eyes gleaming, "I wonder if Rukia-chan is going to wear a dress. Maybe a really short one then I could –"

Once again, Keigo had ended up face first against a wall, his body twitched involuntarily as he half slid, half fell to the floor.

Ichigo grimaced as he flexed his arm; perhaps he had used a bit too much strength this time… Yet the way he talked about Rukia unnerved him a bit…well, it unnerved him _a lot._

"Kurosaki, you don't need to get so worked up," Ishida stated as-a-matter-of-factly as he surveyed the indent on the classroom wall.

"Eeehh, Ichigo you're so forceful these days," Mizuiro sighed, yet he made no attempt to console Keigo who was on the floor crying about Ichigo being so cold.

"Keh," Ichigo scoffed as he eyed Keigo with distaste. "I'm leaving," he muttered as he walked out of the classroom, bag slung over his shoulder.

Ishida and Chad followed suit and Mizuiro followed a few seconds later, punching in a text message to his latest girlfriend.

"Eeeeeh?!" Keigo bellowed as he got up from the floor to find himself in the now deserted classroom, "Guys, where are you? Ichigo? Mizuiro? GUYS?"

* * *

"You're late, you bastard," Rukia said, somewhat annoyed, she tapped her foot and her arms were crossed as she saw Ichigo's figure walk towards her.

"Ahh, shut up, midget," Ichigo answered as he walked past her and began to make his way to his house.

"Oi, damn you, strawberry," Rukia muttered as she ran up to catch up to him, she stuck her tongue out at him.

Ichigo scowled at her but did not stop walking.

"Hey, Ichigo…are you _sure_ the party is going to be alright?" Rukia asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

'_Alright? Do you think it's alright to have around 100 or so teenagers, half of whom you've never met sitting in your lounge room wishing you a happy birthday? Do you think it's alright to have perverts like damned Keigo around snooping on you? Oh yes, Rukia, it's going to be absolutely fucking fine.' _The thoughts ran through Ichigo's head, wait – why did he care so much?

"Oi, Ichigo? Ichiigooo?" Rukia waved her hand in front of Ichigo's face as he continued to look blankly ahead, not answering her. "DAMN IT, ICHIGO!" Rukia finally cried as she whacked his across the head, "Listen to me!"

"Wha-Ouch!" Ichigo yelled as he was snapped (rudely) out of his thoughts and felt a sharp stinging sensation across his head. "Damn it, Rukia! What are you doing, you bitch?" Ichigo yelled as he nursed his sore head.

"Hmph, this is why you never ignore a Kuchiki," Rukia stated as she stared dangerously back at him.

"Riight, you're looking and sounding more like Byakuya every day," Ichigo muttered, rolling his eyes.

At the sound of her brother's name, Rukia felt a soft tinge sweep across her cheeks and she glared up at Ichigo.

Ichigo shrugged, noticing the blush on Rukia's face and murmured something about a 'brother complex' which earned him an even more intent stare from Rukia.

By now they were at the front door of the Kurosaki household and as Ichigo opened the door, they were greeted with a scene of colourful party streamers, balloons and a large piñata in the shape of something that looked like a rabbit.

"W-what? What the hell?" Ichigo said, looking horrified as he stared at his party clad living room. "Too many colours, way too many colours…and what the hells is that?" Ichigo's eye twitched as he motioned to the large piñata, "it looks like a baboon's ass…"

Behind him, Rukia squealed girlishly. "Wow, it's so pretty!" she rand past Ichigo and stared at the rabbit piñata dreamily, it looked like one of her drawings, really, "oh, Chappy!"

"I'm glad you like it, Rukia-chan!" Yuzu said brightly, emerging from the kitchen, "Dad and Karin are just putting up the last of the decorations in the kitchen."

"Oh, Yuzu-chan! Thanks so much!" Rukia flashed her famous smile and followed the younger girl into the kitchen.

Ichigo sighed and checked the clock on the wall, 4:30pm, one and a half hours before the party was due to start. One and a half hours before hell…well, surely, the midget's party couldn't be that bad, right?

* * *

DING DONG. DING DONG.

Ichigo sighed inwardly, the door bell signaled the arrival of the first guests, and it was only 5:39pm. "I'm coming, sheesh, wait a second!" Ichigo growled as he made his way to the front door, making sure not to tread on any loose lying balloons or streamers.

DING DONG. DING DONG. DING DONG. DING DONG. DING DONG.

"Stop pressing the door bell!" Ichigo bellowed as he opened the front door to reveal Keigo standing there, finger practically glued to the door bell button.

DING DONG. DING DONG.

Ichigo's left eyebrow twitched dangerously, "Keigo. What. The. Hell. Are. You. Doing? YOU CAN STOP PRESSING THE DAMN BUTTON NOW!"

"Ichig – Kurosaki-kun, you needn't be so rude to the guests," Rukia said sweetly as she weaved her way across the house and to the front door. "Aaah, Asano-kun, how nice of you to arrive so early," she added sweetly with a smile as she spotted Keigo.

Ichigo stared at Rukia, she was dressed in a pale blue sundress and had her hair tied up, Ichigo had to admit that at that moment, she looked stunning.

"Rukia-chan You look so gorgeous! More beautiful and pure than ever before…and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" With that, Keigo launched himself at Rukia, wide armed and grinning gleefully.

Rukia giggled but then held out her leg and kicked Keigo square in the face, sending him crashing to the floor. Rukia gasped as if in shock, "Oh my, Asano-kun, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you!"

Before any more of Rukia's condolences could be heard, the door opened again and Chad, Orihime and Ishida let themselves in.

"A-ano… Sorry for the intrusion…" Inoue said with a bright smile to Ichigo and Rukia, "we just came to see if there was anything you needed help with…"

Ishida and Chad nodded silently beside her.

"Oh, thank you, but there really isn't much left to do, we're just decorating the cake," Rukia said with a shrug.

"Oooh, cake? I can help! I love cake!" Inoue cried joyfully as she made her way to the kitchen, talking and giggling with Rukia.

"Not bad, Kurosaki," Ishida stated as he surveyed the colourful room and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose again. Chad nodded his agreement.

"Yeah, I'm sure it's better than that pearly white hospital of yours," Ichigo scoffed.

"You are an ass, Kurosaki," Ishida said nonchalantly.

"Ah…Keigo…" Chad murmured as he pointed the figure on the floor, "what happened?"

Ichigo smirked, "he'll be fine, don't worry about him…" It had been a refreshing sight to see Rukia hit someone that _wasn't_ him.

…"So what do we do now?" Ishida asked in a somewhat bored tone as he glanced the clock, 5:44pm it read.

Ichigo shrugged, "we sit…and we wait for the disaster to unfold..." However, before he could even so much as take a step to the lounge, the door bell had rung again.

"I'll get it," Rukia called from the kitchen, "wouldn't want _Kurosaki-kun_ scaring guests away now would we?" She smirked at Ichigo as she walked past him and to the front door.

Ichigo scowled and then took a seat at the far end of the sofa, watching Rukia greet the guests

"Aah…M-Mizuiro-kun," Rukia said somewhat uneasily as she glanced at the 5 or 6 older girls accompanying him. '_Who the hell are these girls….? He can't be that much of a womanizer, can he?_' Rukia thought to herself as she greeted them all and had several presents stuffed into her hands.

"Oi, Mizuiro, who are all these people?" Ichigo asked, indicating towards the group of girls.

"Oh, you guys are here already? Anyway, this is my _new_ girlfriend," Mizuiro presented a tall, pretty, blonde haired girl, "and these are her friends," he finished, waving his arms towards the other girls.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow at several of the girls as they winked and blew kisses at him. Doing a quick calculation, if each person in his class brought along 5 people, they would end up with more or less 100 people.

Before he could pull Rukia aside and talk to her, the door opened again and Tatsuki walked in with several of her karate mates, laughing and joking loudly.

* * *

For the next 10 minutes, Rukia stood by the door, receiving presents and birthday wishes from her classmates as well as many others she had never met before. Still, she smiled and greeted them with unwavering attention and giggled and laughed when they talked.

The music had started up and the beats sounded across the Kurosaki household and couples had started to loosen up and dance. In front of the TV, several guys had started setting up their game consoles and many others were simply talking animatedly with one another.

Yet, Ichigo's eyes never left Rukia; a slight frown fell across his face as he looked at her giggling and smiling. He wondered if the giggles and smiles were really as bright as she made them and whether they were genuine or not. To tell the truth, he enjoyed being the only one that could make her smile and laugh, to let her be herself around him.

As Rukia closed the door behind what she assumed would have been the last group of guests, her eyes caught Ichigo's and she smiled at him softly at him. As she caught on that he was frowning at her, she stuck her tongue out at him.

Ichigo was quite startled when Rukia turned and stared back at him, he wanted to glance away, but then again, why should he? As she stuck her tongue out at him, he scowled at her finally looked away, pretending to be enthralled by the guys playing video games.

Rukia glanced around the house, it actually didn't seem like there were 100 people, the Kurosaki household was much bigger than it seemed... She smiled to herself, '_So far…so good…' _

* * *

**A/N :** Sorry, it's almost been a year. urgh. I've been suffering from such writers block, i've written and deleted so many things halfway through, i felt like i was going to explode, lol. xD I think i ramble too much in my writings...so yeah, sorry about that... and i hope you enjoy this chapter...hopefully... (:

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